The fourth Palma de Mallorca tournament gathered a formidable eighteen — the reigning World Champion Tigran Petrosian, his challenger-elect Boris Spassky, Bent Larsen, and Viktor Korchnoi among them. It was Korchnoi who prevailed, storming the finish to win clear first with 14/17 in what remains one of his most impressive tournament victories.
The strongest Palma yet
1968 brought the deepest field the tournament had seen. The reigning World Champion Tigran Petrosian took his place alongside Boris Spassky — who had just beaten Korchnoi in the 1968 Candidates final to earn the right to challenge Petrosian the following year — plus Bent Larsen, fresh from his own run of tournament triumphs, and a supporting cast that included Svetozar Gligorić, Borislav Ivkov, Pal Benko, and Florin Gheorghiu.
For Korchnoi, then, the event carried a subtext: a chance to answer the man who had just denied him a world-title match. He took it emphatically, finishing ahead of Spassky, Petrosian, and Larsen alike.
Won at the wire
With four rounds to play the leaderboard read Korchnoi 11/13, Larsen and Spassky 10, Petrosian 9. Rather than coast, Korchnoi settled the tournament head-to-head: he defeated Larsen and then Spassky in successive rounds, guaranteeing clear first before the finish.
He came home on 14/17, a point clear of Spassky and Larsen, who shared second and third on 13. Petrosian was fourth on 11½, Gligorić fifth on 10½, and Ivkov sixth on 10. Coupled with his win at Wijk aan Zee earlier the same year, Palma 1968 marked a high point of Korchnoi's late-1960s form.
“By defeating Larsen and Spassky in successive rounds, Korchnoi guaranteed himself victory in the tournament.”
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Korchnoi, Viktor Lvovich | 14/17 | +11 -0 =6 | games |
| =2 | Larsen, Bent | 13/17 | +11 -2 =4 | games |
| =2 | Spassky, Boris Vasilievich | 13/17 | +10 -1 =6 | games |
| 4 | Petrosian, Tigran V | 11½/17 | +7 -1 =9 | games |
| 5 | Gligoric, Svetozar | 10½/17 | +7 -3 =7 | games |
| 6 | Ivkov, Borislav | 10/17 | +4 -1 =12 | games |
| 7 | Benko, Pal C | 9½/17 | +7 -5 =5 | games |
| 8 | Pomar Salamanca, Arturo | 9/17 | +4 -3 =10 | games |
| 9 | Gheorghiu, Florin | 8½/17 | +4 -4 =9 | games |
| 10 | Matanovic, Aleksandar | 8/17 | +3 -4 =10 | games |
| 11 | Lehmann, Heinz | 7/17 | +2 -5 =10 | games |
| 12 | Medina Garcia, Antonio Angel | 6½/17 | +4 -8 =5 | games |
| =13 | Byrne, Donald | 6/17 | +2 -7 =8 | games |
| =13 | Toran Albero, Roman | 6/17 | +2 -7 =8 | games |
| =15 | Diez del Corral, Jesus | 5½/17 | +2 -8 =7 | games |
| =15 | Visier Segovia, Fernando | 5½/17 | +2 -8 =7 | games |
| 17 | Westerinen, Heikki MJ | 5/17 | +4 -11 =2 | games |
| 18 | Calvo Minguez, Ricardo | 4½/17 | +1 -9 =7 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Korchnoi, Viktor Lvovich | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 2 | Larsen, Bent | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Spassky, Boris Vasilievich | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | Petrosian, Tigran V | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 5 | Gligoric, Svetozar | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 6 | Ivkov, Borislav | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 7 | Benko, Pal C | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 8 | Pomar Salamanca, Arturo | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 9 | Gheorghiu, Florin | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 10 | Matanovic, Aleksandar | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 11 | Lehmann, Heinz | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | |
| 12 | Medina Garcia, Antonio Angel | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 13 | Byrne, Donald | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | |
| 14 | Toran Albero, Roman | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 15 | Diez del Corral, Jesus | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 16 | Visier Segovia, Fernando | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | |
| 17 | Westerinen, Heikki MJ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | |
| 18 | Calvo Minguez, Ricardo | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.